Friday, April 29, 2016

Edmonton, Long Island Reveal Logos, Uniforms

On June 5, 1976 the PHL's latest expansion teams revealed their identities to their fans. The Edmonton franchise chose the name Northern Lights. The name was somewhat controversial among the fans, some of whom felt the name was too abstract. Other fans fully embraced the name. "Northern Lights is a totally groovy name man!" said one fan, who was wearing a headband and a tie-dye shirt. The logo and uniforms would be even more "groovy", featuring neon green and powder blue. The logo featured the initials "ENL" stylized to look like northern lights with a starry sky backdrop. "I think we've come up with a very cutting-edge look, I think the younger crowd will really love it."

The Northern Lights were not the only team to fully embrace the hippie generation with their new look. The Long Island Concordes unveiled their logo and uniforms the same day at a festival in Nassau County. The logo features the shape of a Concorde jet in blue tilted upwards with the name "Concordes" stylized underneath in Orange. The Uniforms were perhaps the most radical in league history. Featuring the team's primary color scheme of Orange and Blue, the striping was made to invoke the stripes on the side of a jet, although some skeptical fans referred to them as "tracksuits". "We wanted to come up with something unique, not seen anywhere else in the league." said Long Island General Manager Garth Simmons. "These uniforms really give the impression of speed, we wanted something that looks streamlined, like our team name.